China now flush with tourism toilets

BEIJING — The campaign for a “toilet revolution” in the tourism sector is steadily progressing with the target for 2019 surpassed, senior officials from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said at a news conference on Tuesday.

About 22,300 new tourism toilets have been constructed so far this year — 17 percent more than the 2019 target, according to a news release by the ministry.

The ministry is also making an effort to help travelers find the locations of toilets on electronic maps.

“So far, about 98,000 tourism toilets nationwide can be located on e-maps like Baidu Map, accounting for 82 percent of their total number,” Li Hong, the ministry’s director of public services, said at the news conference.

“People can locate the nearest toilet on the e-map, and they can also get information about the toilet’s facilities and appearance.”

He said that the priority of the campaign for the “toilet revolution” in the tourism sector will be transferred from construction to management in 2020 to improve future implementation.

“Cleanliness and convenience are key elements for tourism toilets,” he said, adding that mobile toilets should be promoted at attractions to relieve pressure during travel rushes.

Also, an amendment of the standards used to classify and evaluate tourism toilets is in the pipeline to improve the quality of tourism services across the country.

Early in 2017, the former China Tourism Administration — which merged with the ministry last year — released a three-year action plan in which 47,000 tourism toilets were to be constructed and 17,000 renovated between 2018 and 2020.

About 100,000 toilets at tourist attractions had been constructed or renovated by the end of 2018, with new technologies such as water-saving and deodorization introduced, making these toilets more user and environmentally friendly, according to the ministry.

For example, Yashan Mountain, a scenic spot in Jiangxi province, has improved its reputation thanks to its innovative and eco-friendly tourism toilets.

Its nine tourism toilets were designed with different themes like bars and buses with materials from recycled waste.

Han Lei, director of Dayu Zhangyuan’s marketing department, said the toilets also include numerous services like machines and lounges.

“The improved condition of toilets will help us attract more tourists,” Han said.